All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.

Variant translations

A military operation involves deception. Even though you are competent, appear to be incompetent. Though effective, appear to be ineffective.

實而備之，強而避之，怒而撓之，卑而驕之，佚而勞之，親而離之，出其不意，攻其不備。

If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.

Note: "If his forces are united, separate them" is also interpreted: "If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them."

The art of war is of vital importance to the State. It is a matter of life and death, a road either to safety or to ruin. Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no account be neglected.

夫未战而庙算胜者，得算多也；未战而庙算不胜者，得算少也。

The general who wins the battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses makes but few calculations beforehand.

将听吾计，用之必胜，留之；将不听吾计，用之必败，去之；

The general that hearkens to my counsel and acts upon it, will conquer: let such a one be retained in command! The general that hearkens not to my counsel nor acts upon it, will suffer defeat: — let such a one be dismissed!

It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.

Variant translations

If you know others and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know others but know yourself, you win one and lose one; if you do not know others and do not know yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle.

Know your enemy and know yourself, find naught in fear for 100 battles. Know yourself but not your enemy, find level of loss and victory. Know thy enemy but not yourself, wallow in defeat every time.

It is the rule in war, if ten times the enemy's strength, surround them; if five times, attack them; if double, be able to divide them; if equal, engage them; if fewer, defend against them; if weaker, be able to avoid them.

是故百戰百勝，非善之善者也；不戰而屈人之兵，善之善者也。

For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.

Variant translations

Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.

The best victory is when the opponent surrenders of its own accord before there are any actual hostilities... It is best to win without fighting.

Engage people with what they expect; it is what they are able to discern and confirms their projections. It settles them into predictable patterns of response, occupying their minds while you wait for the extraordinary moment — that which they cannot anticipate.

古之所善戰者，勝於易勝者也。

What the ancients called a clever fighter is one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.

知可战与不可战者胜。

He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot will be victorious.

以虞待不虞者胜。

He who is prudent and lies in wait for an enemy who is not, will be victorious.

凡用兵之法，全國為上；破國次之；全軍為上，破軍次之；全旅為上，破旅次之；全卒為上，破卒次之；全伍為上，破伍次之。

In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.

Variant translations

It is best to keep one’s own state intact; to crush the enemy’s state is only second best.

是故上攻伐谋

Thus, what is of supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.

Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.

Variant: Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.

见胜不过众人之所识，非善之善者也。

To see victory only when it is within the ken of the common herd is not the acme of excellence.

守则不足，攻则有余

One defends when his strength is inadequate, he attacks when it is abundant.

孫子曰：昔之善戰者，先為不可勝，以待敵之可勝，不可勝在己，可勝在敵。故善戰者，能為不可勝，不能使敵必可勝。故曰：勝可知，而不可為。

Sunzi said: The good fighters of old first put themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy. To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself. Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat, but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy.

The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.

If words of command are not clear and distinct, if orders are not thoroughly understood, the general is to blame. But if his orders are clear, and the soldiers nevertheless disobey, then it is the fault of their officers.

故战道必胜，主曰无战，必战可也；战道不胜，主曰必战，无战可也；

If fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight, even though the ruler forbid it; if fighting will not result in victory, then you must not fight even at the ruler's bidding.

进不邀功，退不避罪，唯人是保，而利合于主，国之宝也。

The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.

視卒如愛子，故可與之俱死。

Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.

Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical. No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out of pique. If it is to your advantage, make a forward move; if not, stay where you are. Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life. Hence the enlightened ruler is heedful, and the good general full of caution. This is the way to keep a country at peace and an army intact.

It is essential to seek out enemy agents who have come to conduct espionage against you and to bribe them to serve you. Give them instructions and care for them. Thus doubled agents are recruited and used.

故明君贤将，能以上智为间者，必成大功。

Now the reason the enlightened prince and the wise general conquer the enemy whenever they move and their achievements surpass those of ordinary men is foreknowledge.

故三军之事，莫亲于间，赏莫厚于间，事莫密于间，

Of all those in the army close to the commander none is more intimate than the secret agent; of all rewards none more liberal than those given to secret agents; of all matters none is more confidential than those relating to secret operations.

此（译注：用间）兵之要，三军之所恃而动也。

Secret operations are essential in war; upon them the army relies to make its every move.

This has appeared as a variant of Sun Tzu's assertion to "leave a way of escape." Tu Mu, commenting on Sun Tzu, advises, "Show him there is a road to safety..." Ch. 7; it has also recently appeared on the internet attributed to Scipio Africanus, but without citation.

This is sometimes attributed to Sun Tzu in combination with the above quote, as well as alone, but it too has not been sourced to any published translation of The Art of War, though it is similar in concept to his famous statement in Ch. 3 : "It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles..."

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.

Probably apocryphal. This quotation does not appear in any print translation of Sun Tzu. The first citation in Google Books is from 2002; no citation in Google Books occurs in a translation of Sun Tzu.

The true objective of war is peace.

This attributed to Sun Tzu and his book The Art of War. Actually James Clavell’s foreword in The Art of Warstates, “’the true object of war is peace.’” Therefore the quote is stated by James Clavell, but the true origin of Clavell's quotation is unclear. Nonetheless the essence of the quote, that a long war exhausts a state and therefore ultimately seeking peace is in the interest of the warring state, is true, as Sun Tzu in Chapter II Waging Wars says that "There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare. It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on." This has been interpreted by Lionel Giles as "Only one who knows the disastrous effects of a long war can realize the supreme importance of rapidity in bringing it to a close."

Dr. Hiroshi Hatanaka, President of Kobe College, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo, Japan is recorded as saying "the real objective of war is peace" in Pacific Stars and Stripes Ryukyu Edition, Tokyo, Japan (10 February 1949), Page 2, Column 2.

Opportunities multiply as they are seized.

Sun Tzu among many other military thinkers and leaders believed in fate and determination from the correct application of theory, the state of the opponent's and one's own power, and a code for the general and a code for the soldier to follow, rather than the Machiavellian type of intuition that evokes an evolution of opportunism that brought great historical consequences as it dominated over the classical and medieval ethical doctrines. Thus this statement is contrary to Sun Tzu principles. Nevertheless, there is a possible relation to the quote: Quickness is the essence of the war.

In peace, prepare for war. In war, prepare for peace.

Sometimes erroneously prepended to the opening line "The art of war is of vital importance to the State", but appears to be a variation of the Roman motto "Si vis pacem, para bellum". It's not clear who first misattributed this phrase to Sun Tzu. The earliest appearance of the phrase in Google Books is 1920, when it appeared in a pharmaceutical journal, but no attribution was given then.

The King of Wu said，"Enough, general. Retire to your hostel, We do not wish to come down and observe." Sun Tzu said, "The king only loves the words, he cannot make use of the reality." After this, Ho-lu knew that Sun Tzu could command troops and in the end appointed him commander. [Later when Wu] defeated mighty Ch’u to its west and entered its capital Ying awed Ch'i and Chin to its north and spread its fame among the feudal lords, it was due in part to Sun Tzu.

translated by Tsai-fa Cheng, Zongli Lu, William H. Nienhauser, Jr., and Robert Reynolds, in The Grand Scribe’s Records, edited by William H. Nienhauser, Jr.

After the various commanders presented the heads [of the enemies] and the captives, they all offered their congratulations. They took the advantage to ask [Han] Hsin and said, “The Art of War says ‘keep the hills to your right and your back; keep the waters to the front or at your left.’’ Now you, General, on the contrary ordered your subjects to draw up in array with our backs against the river and said, ‘We will defeat Chao and feast together.’ Your servants were not convinced. However, we won with this in the end. What strategy was this?” [Han] Hsin said, “This is in The Art of War, however, you gentlemen did not notice it. Doesn’t The Art of War say ‘They will survive after being trapped in a fatal situation and will live on after being placed in a hopeless position? Furthermore, I do not have well-trained officers. This is what is called ‘Drive the street rabble and have them fight.’ The circumstances were that I had to put them in a fatal situation and made every person fight for his life. If I had put them in a safe situation, they would have had already run away. How could they have been held and employed?” The various commanders were all convinced and said, “Well put. It is of [a level] that we could not reach.”

translation by ‎Wang Jing, in The Grand Scribe’s Records, edited by William H. Nienhauser, Jr.

Sun Tzu’s success teaches us that a successful general is one who fully calculates his approach and plans to fight in a battle. However, the average reader is not able to identify Sun Tzu’s teachings on a deeper or philosophical level. This is my reason for writing and exegeses on the Art of War.